17 minutes up, 5-mile tempo in 26:40, 18 minutes down. Known splits of 5:34, 5:21 for the first two miles and 5:14 for the first mile of the "classic" tempo loop.
Unlike those of you who slept in for a few hours this morning, woke up sometime around 10, sipped on a cup of coffee and moseyed around in your jammies, I did not enjoy the start to my Saturday, not one bit.
Instead, I made my first weekend trip out to Lincoln to take part in one of the staples of the New Balance Boston fall training program, that being the tempo run. Take part was about all I was able to do, and even that participation was limited, as my workout went downhill pretty quickly thanks to an unwelcome side stitch 3 miles into it. I honestly can't remember the last time I cramped up during a workout or race, but by the time I stepped off the road just after 5 miles it felt as if I had a vice grip on the area just south of my right rib cage. It sucked, and I was sucking wind because of it. My legs felt great, but from 3 to 5 miles I couldn't catch a breath, which was a problem during an aerobic activity of relatively high intensity that was supposed to last for 8 miles.
Adding to the frustration of having to cut the tempo short was that when it was all said and done I felt like I had totally let my teammates down, especially Ryan and Brad, who soldiered on for another 3 miles without me. We had a great little group - which also included Ryan Fenton through 5 miles - working together and feeding off one another's energy. It killed me not to be able to contribute to that any more than I did. Sorry guys.
The drive to work started with me in a miserable mood, but when my head finally cleared I was able to remind myself that this was just one workout, one that was over and done with and one that I needed to forget about and move on from. Fact of the matter is that I still got a solid 5 miles worth of work in, so I still put some money in the aerobic piggy bank. Not as big a deposit as I was hoping to make, but money in the bank nonetheless.
Quote of the Day
"You’ve still got to keep plugging away. You’ve still got to keep that edge."
- Alan Webb
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